When Stars Collide

by Tammy Robinson

  “I hope we’ll be able to find them again.”

  ‘If we can’t I’ll buy you a new pair.”

  He still owed her for those shoes, he realised. Hell, he would buy her a hundred pairs to make up for it, he thought as he waded through the water. As he neared the treehouse he couldn’t see her, and he started to worry that maybe his instincts had been wrong, or maybe she’d got into trouble making the crossing. His heart seized at the thought, but then he heard something on the wind, a kind of guttural moan. It was her, he realised, and he ran the last hundred metres with renewed vigour.

  She was on her hands and knees at the base of the tree, her spine curved upwards and her face tucked down towards her chest, her hair dragging in the sand.

  “Ivy!” he dropped to his knees beside her, wasn’t sure whether to touch her. “What is it, what’s wrong?”

  “I think the baby’s coming.” she moaned, then cried out in pain

  “What, right now?”

  “Yes right now!”

  “What do I do?” he looked around in panic, as if expecting someone or something, even a doctor to pop into view.

  She didn’t answer him, couldn’t answer him, she was too busy breathing through the pain of a contraction.

  “Ivy?”

  “I don’t know!”

  “Haven’t you been to classes or something?”

  She panted - in, in, out, - “Yes, but they didn’t really cover what to do if you’re stuck on a beach when you go into labour, very inconsiderate of them. I must remember to write them a letter.”

  “That’s my girl, never losing her sense of humour even in the tough times.”

  “Your girl?”

  “Yes, my girl.”

  “What - in, in, out, - about Nina?”

  “Over. I ended it.”

  “On your wedding day?”

  “Better than the day after the wedding, don’t you think?”

  “As overjoyed - in, in, out - as I am to hear that, I do feel sorry for her.”

  “Don’t. She doesn’t have anything nice to say about you.”

  “Walt,” she reached up and grabbed his arm, squeezing it till he winced.

  “Yes Ivy?”

  “You’re going to have to deliver this baby.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can.”

  “I really don’t think I can.”

  “You have to.”

  He took a deep breath when he saw the determination in her eyes, and he drew from her strength.

  “Ok” he nodded, “tell me what to do.”

  “Do you have your phone?”

  “Christ, why didn’t I think of that.” He retrieved the phone from his back pocket. “Who am I calling?”

  “Call granddad, tell him to call the midwife and get her to call us back. She’s going to have to talk us through this.”

  He made the call and she heard her grandfather’s shout of alarm through the speaker.

  “Tell him not to panic,” Ivy said.

  “She’s says don’t panic.”

  He listened.

  “Your grandfather says he’s going to tan your hide for putting him through this.”

  She started to laugh but it turned into a grimace as she felt the beginnings of another contraction seize her womb.

  “Are you sure you can’t make it to the car?” Walt asked hopefully.

  She screamed in answer.

  “God Ivy I feel so helpless. I wish I could take the pain for you.”

  “No offense,” she said through gritted teeth, “but I don’t think you could handle ittttt” the word dragged out as another wave of pain hit. “They’re coming thick and fast” she said when it had passed, “this baby is in a hurry.”

  “You shouldn’t have come down here.”

  “Hindsight – in, in, out - is a wonderful thing.”

  “Why did you?”

  “I thought you were marrying Nina oooooh” she gripped his hand hard as another contraction began, breathing in short shallow breaths until it passed. “I had a few niggles through the night but nothing serious, I just thought they were false contractions. After all, the baby isn’t due for another week. Then when I was in the treehouse –”

  “You climbed up to the treehouse?”

  “- don’t interrupt – yes, I climbed up. It was hard but I made it. And I was sitting there feeling sorry for myself because I thought you were marrying Nina – in, in, out – and then I felt a pop and my waters broke. Then the pain started coming and there was no gentle build up, like I’d been led to believe, just bam, straight into these contractions, and for the love of god they hurrrrrrrrt!”

  “I’m no expert,” Walt said, “but I think you’re supposed to breathe deeper than that. That’s what they do in the movies”

  “I’ll try, but it hurts so much”, and the pain on her face made him want to embrace her and make everything better but he couldn’t. There was only one way to make this pain stop, and that was to deliver the baby.

  “I know, I’m sorry my darling. Just concentrate, we can get through this. Focus on the end result, your beautiful baby, safe and in your arms”

  “I love this baby so much,” she started to cry.

  “Shush, don’t cry, you need to focus, just focus on the baby ok?”

  She nodded “Ok. Why hasn’t she called?”

  “I don’t know, I’ll try Leo.”

  But there was no answer anymore at Leo’s house. Walt was worried; what if he hadn’t been able to get hold of the midwife? What if he was out looking for her? He had to distract Ivy.

  “Ivy.”

  “Yes.”

  “You know I love you right.”

  She smiled weakly, “I know, but it’s nice to hear it.”

  “Ivy?”

  “What?”

  “Do you still love me?”

  “I’ve never stopped loving you, from the very first time I saw you. Wearing that crazy t-shirt and spouting those corny pick-up lines.”

  He smiled, “they were pretty terrible weren’t they.”

  “The worst.”

  “I’m lucky you gave me a chance.”

  “It would have been – in, in, out - my loss if I hadn’t.”

  They shared a tender look before pain gripped her again, tighter and stronger, but this time the pain had moved to her lower back. She screamed; a primal sound that caused goose bumps to spring up on Walt’s skin.

  “What is it?”

  But she couldn’t answer him. Instead she clawed her way up using his body till she was in the crouching position.

  “Shouldn’t you be lying down, legs in the air?”

  “Nooooo, I have to push, I need to be up here to push. Why hasn’t Devon called? Please try granddad again. I can’t do this on my own.”

  “You’re not on your own Ivy, I’m right here with you and I’m not going anywhere.”

  He dialled Leo’s home number but again there was no answer.

  “I’m scared Walt.”

  “Don’t be. Everything is going to be fine, I promise.”

  And for what felt like an eternity she groaned and screamed and made sounds that Walt had never heard before, and as she did she moved around as much as the pain let her, while Walt made soothing noises and massaged her lower back where she said it hurt the most. In actual fact though it was only about forty minutes, as the baby really was in a hurry, and then Walt saw Ivy’s face suddenly blanch.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “It feels funny.”

  “Where?”

  “Down there.”

  “Funny like, how?”

  “Funny like something is sticking out. You’ll have to look.”

  “Talk about things you don’t expect to have to do on the first date.”

  “Walt?”

  “Yes Ivy?”

  “I love you, but can we park the humour for now and just concentrate on the job at hand?”

  “Yes Ivy.”

 
; “Thank you,” she said, and she started to collapse down onto the sand.

  “Wait,” he said, and took off his shirt, laying it down so she could arrange herself awkwardly onto it.

  “Thank you,” she smiled at his tenderness. She was exhausted; he could see it in her eyes. The pain was intense and the fear of doing this without someone who knew what they were doing weighed heavily on both of them.

  Blushing, she lifted her tunic and Walt eased off her tights and underwear.

  “Oh,” was all he said.

  “What? What is it? Is something wrong?” she tried to push up onto her elbows to see if she could see what he was seeing but her stomach was in the way. “Walt what is it?”

  “Unless I’m mistaken, it’s the top of the baby’s head.”

  “You can see it?”

  “Yes. And it has lots of dark hair like yours.”

  Ivy started to cry. It was really real, this was actually happening. She was having her baby, right now and right here on this beach. Then she felt an uncontrollable urge to push and her body bore down with all the strength she could muster, until she felt like her own head might pop right off.

  “That’s it Ivy, good girl. You’re doing really well, the head came out a little bit more. Keep pushing my love.”

  And she took her strength from his love and she gave it everything she had.

  “It’s out, the head is out,” Walt said, his voice thick with emotion, “one more push my girl.”

  So she gave it one last, great push and he was right and the baby slid out into his welcoming arms. Ivy felt a huge sense of release and the pain was gone. She was spent.

  “Oh Ivy, it’s a girl and she’s beautiful,” Walt said through tears.

  “Ivy!” they heard her name shouted and turned to see Leo and Devon, carrying a bag and not far down the beach and gaining fast.

  “Lousy timing,” Walt smiled weakly at them when they reached them.

  “I’d say just in time,” the midwife said, taking in the situation; Ivy on her back, her baby girl on her chest, already nuzzling to find her mother’s breast. She couldn’t quite reach though as the cord was still attached to the placenta which was still inside Ivy. Walt reluctantly moved and with a few words from Devon and a few more pushes from Ivy the placenta was birthed. Devon clamped the cord and Leo did the honours of cutting it.

  “My great-granddaughter,” he kept saying, over and over. “Does she have a name yet?”

  “No, not yet,” Ivy said, her eyes never leaving her beautiful baby girl.

  “She’s a good size,” Devon smiled, as she busied herself giving the baby a quick wipe down and checking that Ivy had come through the birth without any problems.

  “Is she ok?” Ivy asked

  “She’s absolutely perfect. You did a fantastic job”

  “She did” Walt said, his eyes never leaving Ivy’s face.

  “We did” Ivy smiled back at him.

  He had never seen her look more beautiful than she did in the moment. Yes she was flushed and pale and exhausted, but she exuded warmth and happiness and was the very picture of motherhood and femininity. Everything that was right about this world began and ended right here. He hadn’t thought it possible to love her more than he already did but seeing her lying there, on his shirt, smiling despite the pain she had just been through, he felt an animalistic pride. This was his family, Ivy, the baby and him, and he would never let anything harm them.

  Chapter thirty five

  Devon straightened up with the measuring tape, “fifty three and a half centimetres” she said, “she’s going to be a tall girl”

  Ivy, Walt and Leo watched on proudly. They had already cooed and aahed as the plump naked baby girl, protesting all the while at the indignity, was plonked down on the scales. She had weighed in at a healthy 8 pound five ounces, a gain of 600 grams since she was born.

  “She’s doing marvellously” Devon declared, and they all beamed at each other proudly.

  There was nothing this baby could do wrong in their eyes. Since joining the family two weeks previously none of them had managed to get more than a few hours sleep at a time, as the baby had found her voice and seemed determined to be heard. She didn’t cry, just chattered, making the sweetest sounds that would melt even the hardest of hearts. Sometimes, in the night, it was even a race to see who could get to her first when she woke and made her desire for company known. Ivy was the only one with working breasts though, so the men had to reluctantly hand her over once they’d enjoyed cuddles and inhaling her magical smell.

  Walt hadn’t slept a night at his house since the baby was born. He’d been back to fetch some things but only quick trips, he couldn’t bear to be away from Ivy and the baby for any length of time. The house sale had gone through and in another month it would belong to someone else anyway. It had just been unspoken and accepted that he now lived with them. He’d been a busy man. The baby was sleeping in with Ivy and Walt for now, as they wanted her close, but they knew there would come a time when the baby would need her own room.

  “It’s time,” Leo had said, and Ivy had agreed.

  They both felt tinges of sadness at the decision, but the baby had bought new life into the house. It was time for things to change.

  So they had packed up Pat’s things and apart from a few keepsakes they had given the rest to charity. Then Walt had given the room a fresh coat of paint, a beautiful cream with lemon trim. They had gone a bit crazy ordering furniture but the end result was gorgeous. The cot was white and shaped like a boat, and in one corner stood a beautiful and comfortable rocking chair and footstool from where Ivy could breastfeed. A large pale blue woven rug covered the wooden floors, and Walt had painted a beautiful sea design border around the room; octopuses, seahorses, yachts, shells and fish. A wooden change table sat underneath the window. The baby, they had discovered, loved fresh air and sunshine, and would wiggle happily whenever she was in it. Perhaps, they thought, it was because of her unusual birth place.

  “Have you picked a name yet?” Devon asked as she packed up her things to leave.

  “Not yet,” Ivy answered, with a smile at Walt. They hadn’t been able to agree on a name.

  After the midwife had left, the three of them hovered over the bassinet. The baby had gone off to sleep, her little hands curled into fists at either side of her head.

  “We can’t keep calling her baby forever,” Leo said.

  “I know.”

  “Ivy doesn’t like my suggestions,” Walt teased.

  “It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just that they haven’t seemed to suit her.”

  “I know, you’re right. We need the perfect name for the most perfect baby.”

  “You know,” said Ivy shyly, “I looked up some names on the internet last night and one in particular stuck in my mind. I’ve been mulling over it all night and I think it might be the one.”

  “What is it?”

  Ivy took a deep breath. “Freya,” she announced. “She was a goddess of love.”

  Walt tasted the name, rolled it over his tongue and rubbed it along the back of his teeth.

  “I love it,” he declared.

  “It’s beautiful,” Leo agreed. “The true test of course, is does the baby like it?”

  They leaned over the bassinet.

  “Welcome to the world, Freya” Ivy whispered.

  And the baby smiled as if she understood perfectly.

  Chapter thirty six

  The day dawned bright and warm. Spring had well and truly sprung, and the village was gleaming under all the new growth. Trees heaved with fresh green leaves and fat, fluffy late blossoms. Bud laden branches were poised to open and fat lambs leapt and bounded around paddocks like they had springs under their feet.

  There was a general air of expectancy. Today the newest member of the village was to be christened.

  The infant herself nestled contentedly in her bassinet in the side room off the church. She was wearing a gown fit for r
oyalty, a frothy concoction of cream lace and satin; ruffled and bunched and layered until it almost weighed more than the baby herself. It was a family heirloom, Leo had insisted.

  “Your grandmother and mother were christened in it, as were you and your sister. It’s only right that baby Freya wears it for her big day as well.”

  And Ivy had caved, even though she secretly thought the gown was ever so slightly over the top. She wanted to please her grandfather though, so she compromised by agreeing that although Freya would wear the gown for the ceremony, she would change afterwards into something more comfortable for the celebratory party.

  Freya, oblivious to any of this, watched with interest from her bassinet as her mother made the finishing touches to her own outfit and smiled happily into the full length mirror. The door opened and the man who the baby would forever and always call ‘Daddy’ entered.

  “Are you ready my love? I think everyone –”

  He paused in his tracks and the words fell from his lips.

  “What’s wrong?” Ivy asked, turning, alarmed at the peculiar expression on his face.

  “How do you do it?” he asked in wonder.

  “How do I do what?”

  “Manage to look even more beautiful than ever before.”

  Ivy blushed and looked at the floor.

  “Oh stop it,” she said.

  “I will not. Look at you,” he crossed the room and took her by one hand, pulling her gently from her seat and twirling her in a dance until she giggled and came up against his chest.

  “I love you Walt Parker,” she said.

  “I love you more, Ivy Parker.”

  She was still getting used to her new name; after all she had only been the proud owner of it for a few weeks. They had held a small, private ceremony on the beach, with Freya, Leo, James and Walt’s family as the only guests. They had said their vows and pledged their love as the sun set over the ocean, and they released lit candles and flowers into the water and celebrated under the stars as they watched them float out to sea.

  The baby observed as her parents embraced, something they did with frequency. The attention had been off her long enough, she decided, so she gurgled in a manner she’d found bought smiles to their faces and love and kisses her way. Sure enough, her mother broke free from her father’s embrace and swooped her up into her arms.